Asia · Eastern Asia

South Korea

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Jun 2024

Fresh · 1mo ago

Compare South Korea World Prison Brief page

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

55,000

Year: 2023

Rate per 100,000

107

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

122%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

33%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

7.8%

Foreign nationals

5.5%

Conditions risk — across 138 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

—

national average

138 unknown

abolitionist in practice on capital punishment. Last known execution: 1997.Methods: hangingICCPR-OP2 (death-penalty abolition protocol): not a signatory

Seeded from Amnesty International 2024 categorisation + Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.

Source: Amnesty International + Cornell Death Penalty Worldwide.

How South Korea compares

vs Asia (16) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 107 · region: 168 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 122% · region: 150% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 33% · region: 33% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year

2003: 57,336+3.1% over 20y2023: 59,088

Source: unodc

Prisons in South Korea

Browse all 138 →

138 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Andong Prison

South Korea

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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andonggyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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andonggyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Anyang Correctional Institution

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Anyang Prison

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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anyanggyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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anyangsonyeonweon

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Busan Detention Center

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Busan Prison

South Korea

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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busanguciso

South Korea · ë¶ì°ê´ìì

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Capacity

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Held

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busanguciso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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busangyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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busangyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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busansonyeonweon

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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cangweongyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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ceonangaebanggyodoso

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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ceongjusonyeonweon

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Changwon Prison

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Cheonan Open Prison

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Cheonan Prison

South Korea

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Capacity

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Held

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Cheongju Immigration Processing Center

South Korea

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Cheongju Prison

South Korea

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Cheongju Women's Correctional Institution

South Korea

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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Cheongju Women's Prison

South Korea

Type

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Capacity

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Held

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See all 138 prisons in South Korea →

Data completeness

90%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population: 51,500,0002023
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 1 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

Primary reference
World Prison Brief (ICPS, Birkbeck) — Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research
See /data-sources for our methodology.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3: KOR